Clan Snow Raven


Clan Snow Raven Logo
Clan Snow Raven
Faction Profile
Time period: 28073083
Classification: Clan
Controlled systems: ?
Capital world: Lum (former)
Ruler title: Khan
Military: Clan Snow Raven touman
Secret Service: Clan Snow Raven Watch

Clan Snow Raven was founded by Stephen McKenna (a distant relative of the famous James McKenna who hailed from the Terran Hegemony).[1] The Snow Ravens are a complicated Clan that have taken a unique path, due to several catastrophes in their early history. Famed for their heavy use of naval assets, as well as their conniving and efficient nature, the Snow Raven Clan, despite being mistrusted and misunderstood by other Clans, eventually rose to power in the years after the Clan Invasion.[2] During the Jihad, the Snow Ravens would leave Clan space and enter a war with the Draconis Combine. They would later join the remaining Clans in the Inner Sphere to form the Council of Six after their abjuration from the Clan Homeworlds. They would develop a close relationship with the Outworlds Alliance and by the end of the Jihad, the two factions would merge together to become the Raven Alliance.

History[edit]

Culture[edit]

The practices and customs of the Snow Raven Clan were a study in contradiction. On the one hand the Clan was incredibly tight-knit and distrusting of any outsiders: rarely would a Snow Raven take someone from outside the Clan into their confidence for fear they may turn on them, and most bondsmen wore their bondcord for many years before being accepted. Even then these individuals had difficulty fully integrating into their new Clan, and of the very few warriors taken fewer still were allowed to rise above the rank of Star Colonel.[3]

In comparison the Clan's internal politics were downright Byzantine, a complex web of power structures and relationships. The focus of this politicking was the Clan's Bloodname Houses, often known internally as "the families," and to interfere with a family's internal affairs was considered a grave sin. This was because each House Leader had absolute authority over how its Bloodnamed members would vote in the Clan Council, but determining who held this position meant only the most politically astute retained it for more than a few years. Thus while no Snow Raven ever did something without reason, that reason was not always the most apparent one.[3]

The Snow Ravens were also unique in maintaining a separate category of naval Bloodnames. While all Clans hold control over a number of bloodlines categorized as generic, MechWarrior, Elemental or Pilot, the Snow Ravens created an additional category of Naval Command. Bred for their analytical and command abilities, with strength and stamina secondary concerns, such bloodlines dated back to the early days of the Clan as a means to produce superior naval officers. The rarity of inter-Clan naval engagements throughout most of their history meant other Clans saw such practices as a waste of resources.[4]

Inter-Clan Relations[edit]

For most part Clan Snow Raven avoided entanglements with alliances or feuds throughout its history. Only with three Clans did the Snow Ravens have anything resembling alliances.

Clan Name Symbol Relationship Reason
Clan Blood Spirit Clan Blood Spirit logo.png Ally Exchanges of war matériel with Clan Blood Spirit between 2980 and 3010 inaugurated limited dealings with that isolationist Clan until the Raven's Abjuration from the Clan Homeworlds and the Blood Spirit's destruction.
Clan Ghost Bear Clan Ghost Bear logo.png Ally With Clan Ghost Bear the Snow Ravens consistently maintained good relations; each Clans' military bias offset the others' weakness, and exchanges of technology and skills were frequent.[5]
Clan Cloud Cobra Clan Cloud Cobra.jpg Ally The Cloud Cobras shared the Ravens' inclination towards aerospace warfare and political intrigue. These relations would continue until the Raven's Abjuration from the Clan Homeworlds.
Clan Name Symbol Relationship Reason
Clan Diamond Shark Clan Diamond Shark.jpg Enemy A one-sided rivalry did exist with Clan Diamond Shark from 2985 onward, in which the Sharks punished the Ravens via mercantile means after the Ravens created the Diamond Shark to kill their original totem, the Sea Fox. Despite this, the Ravens atypically refrained from reprisals.
Clan Steel Viper Clan Steel Viper logo.png Enemy The Ravens actively feuded with Clan Steel Viper following the loss of their resource-rich colony on Hellgate to the Vipers in 2899.[5] Though the Viper did expel the Snow Ravens from the Clan Homeworlds, the rivalry ended when Clan Steel Viper was eliminated in 3075.
Clan Jade Falcon Clan Jade Falcon.jpg Enemy The Snow Ravens once had friendly relations with Clan Jade Falcon, until they refused to allow a Bloodnamed Raven Warrior, Nerran McKenna, to return to his Clan for Bloodhouse business due to the difficulties of transporting him back to the Clan Homeworlds from the Inner Sphere. This would result in a souring relation between the two Clans.

Military[edit]

For many years the Snow Raven touman contained the largest naval force of any Clan, with forty WarShips and a near-stranglehold on shipbuilding facilities. Its fleet was divided into five-ship naval Stars organized around either a central combatant, such as a battleship or carrier, or an armored transport, such as a Potemkin or Volga. Each naval group was accompanied by large numbers of assault DropShips, as many as a Cluster's worth of aerospace fighters, and a number of Elemental marine Trinaries. Such was the size of the fleet during this time that it allowed the Snow Ravens to maintain a "two-Clan system," whereby they could simultaneously fight major space engagements with two other Clans and be reasonably assured of victory. These naval forces not only served to protect the Clan but also as a source of revenue: in addition to ship facilities, elements of the fleet were contracted out to other Clans to fight at their side, though such practices declined as the disparity in fleet sizes began to lessen.[6]

Such an emphasis on aerospace and naval assets greatly affected its ground forces, which in total numbers of BattleMechs was less compared to other Clans. Most Elementals, and even some 'Mech pilots, were trained in zero-G operations, making them as equally effective fighting within a ship, on its hull, or free-floating in space as they were on solid ground. These forces were also more heavily reliant on the fleet to perform aerial reconnaissance and close air support, making their absence in a fight potentially debilitating. A tradition of assigning a naval Star to each Galaxy posed its own problem, as the ranks of Star Admiral and Galaxy Commander were equivalent, resulting in arguments over authority and occasionally hampering operations. Only rarely would the Khans intervene and appoint a senior officer, typically the Galaxy Commander, and only in truly problematic instances, as the two supreme leaders were supposed to be impartial to internal politicking.[6]

In other instances the chain of command was clearly spelled out in what was known as "the list." Recording all officers and their qualifications, "the list" established a clear line of precedence in the case of a superior officer's incapacity or death. Such a mechanism avoided a problem found in other Clans which over-relied on senior officers and let a Snow Raven warrior know their exact status within the Clan. Promotion was also handled differently compared to other Clans: to achieve the rank of Galaxy Commander required the warrior to earn the Order of the Raven, and only Galaxy Commanders or Star Admirals could be elected as Khan, saKhan or Loremaster. Likewise because each Galaxy was primarily responsible for one world, and each Galaxy Commander reported directly to the Khan and was their representative on that world, those elevated to this position were the de facto head of their respective planetary governments.[6]

Snow Raven training also differed from that of many other Clans, influenced in part by their several near-extinctions during the course of their history. A heavy emphasis on teamwork, and putting the needs and honor of the Clan above even personal honor, began at basic training under the warders of the Ravenshead training ground and the McKenna Naval Training Facility. The Snow Ravens also utilized simulators as opposed to live-fire exercises to a greater degree than normal Clan training. Not only were their 'Mech, fighter and WarShip simulators among the most advanced, but their use avoided the wasteful expenditure of limited resources and allowed the bulk of equipment to be assigned to combat units. The result of this methodology was a relatively small but well-trained and well-equipped fighting force.[6]

Bloodnames[edit]

Category:Clan Snow Raven Bloodnames

Rulers[edit]

Khans[edit]

saKhans[edit]

Loremasters[edit]

Era Specific Information[edit]

3062[edit]

Snow Raven Demographics
Affiliation: Warden (nominal)
Population (Clan Space): 94,199,000 (3060)
Population growth rate: 2.2 percent (49/27)
Self-Sufficiency Index: 96 percent

Leaders:
Khan: Lynn McKenna
saKhan: Bryn Cooper
Loremaster: Klaus Harper
Scientist-General: Charlotte (von Braun)
Merchant Factor: Louis
Master Technician: Mattias
Senior Laborer: Emili

Military:
Clusters: 26
WarShips: 40

Clan Space Worlds:
Capital: Lum
Bearclaw (70 percent)
Brim (19 percent)
Circe (70 percent)
Hellgate (100 percent)
Lum (82 percent)

Manufacturing Center[edit]

A detailed list of some Snow Raven manufacturers and company centers.

Category:Clan Snow Raven Corporations

Heavy Aerospace Industry[edit]

3067[edit]

References[edit]

  1. The Star League, p. 12: "James McKenna"
  2. Historical: Operation Klondike, pp. 115–116: "Stephen McKenna Profile"
  3. 3.0 3.1 Field Manual: Warden Clans, p. 122
  4. Field Manual: Warden Clans, p. 123
  5. 5.0 5.1 The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky, p. 92: "Allies and Enemies"
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Field Manual: Warden Clans, pp. 124–125
  7. Strategic Operations, p. 17

Bibliography[edit]